GENESEE COUNTY, Mich. – The National Weather Service has confirmed that an EF-2 tornado touched down in Grand Blanc early Wednesday morning.
According to the National Weather Service, the EF-2 Tornado touched down three miles west of Grand Blanc and continued on a track through Genesee County until lifting off the ground one mile west of Atlas. The tornado touched down at 1:12 a.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 28, and traveled for 5.7 miles before ending at 1:22 a.m.
EF-2 TORNADO: NWS Detroit has confirmed than an EF-2 Tornado touched down at 1:12 AM 3 Miles West of Grand Blanc and was down for almost 6 miles before lifting 1 Mile West of Atlas around 1:22 AM Wednesday Morning. Maximum sustained winds were 115 MPH... #MIWX @Local4News pic.twitter.com/oEO9e43Sez
— Bryan Schuerman, M.A., M.Ed. (@BSchuermanWX) February 28, 2024
The NWS estimates that peak winds reached 115 miles per hour and the maximum width of the tornado was 450 yards. No injuries and no fatalities were reported.
The tornado touched down in Creasey Bicentennial Park, damaging the south pavilion and uprooting a pine tree. It then tracked east/northeast across Westminster Circle, where it snapped multiple trees, blew out two garage doors, and partially stripped a roof from a home. It continued tracking east/northeast across Porter Road and Reid Road.
The worst of the damage occurred at an industrial complex at the intersection of Reid Road and S Dort Highway. The tornado blew out load-bearing walls and caused significant loss to the roof. Multiple transmission poles were also snapped along South Dort Highway.
The tornado caused damage in the Indian Hill neighborhood near downtown Grand Blanc. It downed multiple large trees, with some falling onto homes along Old Bridge Road to Stonybrook Drive.
It continued east/northeast across Genesee Road to Belsay Road, snapping hardwood limbs and uprooting pine trees before causing more damage along Moonstone Drive and Brookeview Drive. It caused widespread tree damage in this area, and blew out a garage door and partially uplifted a roof.
The tornado weakened and lifted shortly after it crossed Perry Road.
EF-2 tornado confirmed in Grand Blanc last night.
— NWS Detroit (@NWSDetroit) February 28, 2024
Only the second time a tornado has been observed in February over Southeast Michigan. The previous one occurred Feb 28th 1974 in southwest Wayne county. pic.twitter.com/gWRzxPjeYe
---> Tornado tears through Grand Blanc amid storms: What we know
How the National Weather Service determines the scale of a tornado
The National Weather Service uses the EF Scale to rate a tornado based on wind speeds and damage.
The Enhanced Fujita Scale (EF Scale) has been used since 2007 and the National Weather Service is the only federal agency with the authority to provide an official EF Scale rating of a tornado.
When the NWS surveys damage from a tornado officials compare the damage to a list of Damage Indicators (DIs) and Degrees of Damage (DoD) , which help them estimate the range of wind speeds the tornado likely produced.
The EF scale is a set of wind estimates, not measurements, based on damage. It uses three-second gusts estimated at the point of damage based on a judgment of 8 levels of damage to 28 indicators.
Damage Indicators include barns, homes, mobile homes, motels, fast food restaurants, shopping malls, schools, hardwood trees, softwood trees, and many more.
After the range of wind speeds is determined, they assign an EF-0 to EF-5 rating. The goal is to give the tornado an EF Scale rating based on the highest wind speed that occurred within the damage path.
---> How the National Weather Service determines the scale of a tornado